A team of Israeli hackers who claim to have manipulated more than 30 elections around the world has revealed that they have a “presence” in Greece which is due to hold a general election after April.
The news broke by an international team of journalists who investigated the team with the codename “Team Jorge” run by Tal Hanan, a 50-year-old former Israeli special forces operative who now works privately using the pseudonym “Jorge”.
The Guardian says that by using hacking, sabotage and automated disinformation on social media “Team Jorge” claims covert involvement in 33 elections around the globe. The group also works for corporate clients.
One of Team Jorge’s key services is a sophisticated software package, Advanced Impact Media Solutions, or Aims. It controls a vast army of thousands of fake social media profiles on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Telegram, Gmail, Instagram and YouTube. Some avatars even have Amazon accounts with credit cards, bitcoin wallets and Airbnb accounts.
The consortium of journalists that investigated Team Jorge includes reporters from 30 outlets including Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El País.
The undercover footage was filmed by three reporters, who approached Team Jorge posing as prospective clients, the Guardian says.
Hackers are now involved in one election in Africa and have a team in Greece
Hanan described his team as “graduates of government agencies”, with expertise in finance, social media and campaigns, as well as “psychological warfare”, operating from six offices around the world. Four of Hanan’s colleagues attended the meetings, including his brother, Zohar Hanan, who was described as the chief executive of the group.
In his initial pitch to the potential clients, Hanan claimed: “We are now involved in one election in Africa … We have a team in Greece and a team in [the] Emirates … You follow the leads. [We have completed] 33 presidential-level campaigns, 27 of which were successful.”
Later, he said he was involved in two “major projects” in the US but claimed not to engage directly in US politics.
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